SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific slipped in Wednesday morning trade, with some markets in the region closed for holidays.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 led losses among the region’s major markets as it dropped 1.64%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were also lower, with the Shanghai composite down 0.49% while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.387%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.97% while the Topix index slipped 0.49%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.38% lower.
In corporate developments, shares of Singapore Airlines were down about 2% in Wednesday morning trade, with the firm set to announce its full-year results later in the day.
Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed on Wednesday for holidays.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 267.13 points to 34,060.66 while the S&P 500 slipped 0.85% to close at 4,127.83. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.56% to 13,303.64.
Oil prices fall 1%
Oil prices slipped in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1.03% to $68 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 1.07% to $64.79 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.827 following a recent slip from above 90.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.01 per dollar, having strengthened yesterday from above 109 against the greenback. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7788, higher than levels around $0.774 seen earlier this week.
Source: CNBC